One of the factors that determines whether a user will continue to use an application and purchase upgrades is the initial user experience with the application. Specifically, the initial learning curve and setup time of the application may determine the user's continued use of the application. For example, a user may abandon applications with longer setup times and/or complicated interfaces.
Because of the inherent nature of the functionality provided, certain applications may require a greater learning curve and longer setup times. For example, financial applications may require a user to have both knowledge of financial management and an understanding of how to navigate through the application. With regards to the financial management, the user may need to know how different types of transactions affect the user's accounts. For example, purchases related to a house have different tax implications than purchases for groceries. Similarly, purchases for a first house, or primary residence, may have different tax implications than purchases for subsequent vacation houses. Because a financial application must account for the different types of financial accounts and transactions, the financial application may be inherently complicated. Users that are new to the financial application and/or financial management may have difficulty navigating though the inherently complicated application.
In order to assist a user in learning how to use an application and performing the data setup, a user may obtain assistance provided by the company that developed the application or a third party. For example, certain applications have detailed help files and pop-up boxes to assist users. Applications may also have a tutorial that gives the user an automated guided tour of the application. Further, the user may attend a seminar describing how to use the application.
When the user completes reviewing the help files, pop-up boxes, tutorial or seminar, the user tailors the provided assistance to his/her needs. Specifically, the user identifies how the assistance is applicable, and submits data to the application accordingly.